When I Die They Will Survive
by Dean.is.Batman
Summary: Dean Winchester, his brother Sam and the angel Castiel are thrown into the distant past where they meet Arthur, Merlin and a whole lot of trouble. AU. 6th season Supernatural, 3rd season Merlin.
1. Chapter 1: ROUGH DRAFT

(**AUTHOR NOTE: This is the roughest draft EVER, so, please don't point out the many errors. My beta reader is going to fix all nice and pretty when it is complete. So, until then, please, don't send flames based on wording choices, spelling, etc. If you're a grammar nazi then just wait until it is complete...otherwise, enjoy. :). Thanks for reading, you rock!)

000

_For the love of GOD, Sam, put the fucking knife down and stop posturing. Bravado won't do you any good against those obviously well-used swords. These men are not playing around so PUT THE KNIFE DOWN, RIGHT NOW! _

"Sa-am," the single word of warning expresses all this as Dean Winchester pushes himself off the damp ground.

Sam Winchester, younger of the two brothers, hesitates a moment longer and then lets his large hunting knife fall to the forest floor where it is swallowed up by the brush. He holds his hands up over his head and waits.

"Are you magic?" a stocky man with a trucker beard and chain mail shirt asks with a tone both commanding and deep. "You are trespassing on the King's land and magic is forbidden here."

Dean's eyebrows raised and he could feel the start of his patented "shit-eater" grin starting to form.

"King?" Sam asked, his voice holding only confusion.

"Uther, King of Camelot."

"Camelot? Alright, cupcake...it's obvious that you and your little friends need to quit the D-and-D, A-S-A-P."

The swords suddenly made a lot more sense. What had those Supernatural groupies called it, Dean wracked his brain, oh, yes, LARPING. The armor and weaponry looked authentic, but that was just a theatricality, Dean was sure of that now. What other explanation could there be?

Castiel had obviously transported them to a damn medieval convention, that was all. Sam's shoulders relaxed as he came to the same conclusion.

"Your words mean nothing to me! Answer the question I have given you or die," the soldier-man shook his sword as if to give weight to his words, "are you magic?"

Dean chuckled, his breath forming into a cloud. "Really? The sissy British accent and everything – seriously?" the elder Winchester shook his head.

"Silence! You are magic and therefore, under the laws of Camelot and our King, you must both be put to death."

There was a murmur of agreement from the dozen other soldiers and they began to close in on the brothers with drawn swords. It was their expressions, angry and hateful, that caused doubt to bubble up inside Dean.

_Sam, I think maybe we might possibly be in a little bit of, well, trouble. Um. run! _

"Sam!"

The second the word was past his gritted teeth, both men turned and sprinted into the forest away from the soldiers. Dean felt his breath burn in his lungs, but he ignored it and kept running. He heard nothing except the fast, loud beat of his heart and the sound of his over-sized brother smashing through the forest somewhere to his left. He wondered briefly where Castiel had disappeared to and why he had chosen to transport them to such an awful place. Dean hated forests.

_We can't keep doing this for much longer...Do you think they are still following us? _

"Sam?" the question was a bit breathless.

"Not sure," Sam's answer came between gasps, "but I'm not going to stop to find out."

Exhaustion pulled at Dean's body, his knees and legs aching, but he had grown used to ignoring it. Being on the run from imminent peril was a daily event for the Winchester brothers. They did not hear anything of their pursuers, but that did not mean a thing if the damn LARPERS were shifters or something worse.

It was another good twenty minutes before they slowed to an even jog, taking in their new surroundings more carefully. The forest had opened up into a slanted plain of waist high grass. In the distance they could see the towers of a castle.

"My, God," Dean cursed in disbelief as he stared at the stone workings peeking over the tree tops, "Sammy, I think Castiel's internal GPS was a little off the mark."

"No shit," Sam responded, blinking at the sight.

When they got closer to the castle and they could see the tall walls, they began to hear the bustle of movement within. Voices, muffled by distance, accompanied by the sound of animals mulling. They had yet to meet anyone on the overgrown path they had found and begun to follow.

"I feel like that fricking Disney pixie," Dean muttered angrily, hiding his growing fear.

Sam's eyebrows shot up and he glanced over his shoulder at his brother. "Tinkerbell?"

Dean's head moved to one side and his green eyes glared. "Shut up."

Sam smirked, holding his hands up in the air. "Hey, you said it...Tinkerbell."

_Sam, this is totally not Kansas and if Cas doesn't get his ass over here and zap us home then I think we might have a problem._

"Sam..." there was a small sigh at the end of the word.

"I know," all playfulness was gone from Sam's smile.

The two brothers, one with short cropped blond hair and a no-nonsense attitude, the other tall and dark haired with broad shoulders and demon blood, walked towards their destiny. Camelot.

0000

Merlin frowned. Something had changed in the city and he could feel it. His arms tingled with magical warning. It was not uncommon for the young warlock to feel the oncoming source of evil before it struck at Arthur or the land.

A loud _thunk_ filled the air and Merlin found his breath pushed out of his body and he fell to the ground, catching himself on all fours. The heavy shield on his back felt like it weighed a ton and Merlin waited patiently for Prince Arthur to pull out the spear that had hit its mark.

"For the hundredth time, Merlin – bob, weave, MOVE!" the prince sounded frustrated.

"Yes, sire. Sorry," Merlin gave the expected apologies.

"What is your problem this time? Another row with Gaius?" Arthur asks, squinting up at the sky.

Merlin pushes himself off the ground, wiping the dirt off his hands onto his leggings. "No."

"Well, then what?" Arthur presses.

"Nothing, I'm sorry." Merlin smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "I'll do better, sire."

Bored with trying to cheer up the servant, Arthur shrugs and walks away, tossing the spear into the air and catching in a practiced movement. The prince doesn't like to appear to treat Merlin as a favorite, but in so many ways the large eared nobody was a type of mirror image of the blond prince. Arthur always felt uncomfortable when he thought about it. After all, Merlin was a blooming idiot...most of the time. Then there were those moments of such wise clarity when Merlin might well have been of royal blood. Arthur never knew what to expect from his manservant.

"Ready, sire," the source of Arthur's musings called from down the field.

The prince grinned, already forgetting his thoughts in anticipation of a good workout. He needed to keep in shape if the people were to trust him with their lives.

"Sire! Arthur!" a gasping knight ran into the training yard with arm raised.

Arthur immediately went to the man's side, "is everything alright?"

The knight shook his head, "No, sire. Magic."

Arthur's spine tingled at the dreaded word.

"Magic is in the kingdom...we believe to have found sorcerers."

Merlin had followed Arthur's approach and just caught the tail end of the knight's exclamations.

"Magic, are you sure?" Arthur asked.

He needed to know without a doubt that there was true reason for alarm before informing the King. Uther was blind to all things magic and Arthur hated to see his King so shuttered and biased. He had to be certain.

"We are mostly certain, sire...there could be no other explanation."

With a nod of his head, his lips pursing in distress, the prince put a hand on his knight's shoulder.

"Tell me everything."

0000

_Magic again, Gaius, when will it end? Will Camalot ever be free of the consequences of Uther's harsh actions? When will it stop? The fighting...the pain. _

When he walked into the room all Merlin said was one word, "Arthur."

Gaius nodded his head in full understanding of what was not said, a sad glint in his eyes or perhaps that was only a trick of the candle light. The old man walked to the boy's side and pulled him into a rare hug.

"You are strong, Merlin, and I believe that you will make Arthur into a better King – the King that Camelot deserves...and needs." Gaius pulled back, leaving his hands on Merlin's shoulders. "But, I am afraid, it will be a long journey to freedom for all."

Merlin hung his head, his chin wrinkling as he held tears at bay. "I know that," his voice was thick with pent up emotion.

"Oh, Merlin," Gaius shook his head, patted the shoulders for a moment and then turned to pace across the room.

"Two men appeared in the forest just outside of town. There were knights there, they witnessed it. Apparently there was a blinding flash of light and then two men where moments before there were none. What do you make of it?"

Gaius raised an eyebrow impossibly high. "Blinding light?"

"Yes." Merlin nodded.

"Hm." Gaius moved to one of his many piles of old books and manuscripts, digging through it. "Hm."

_You know something and you aren't going to tell me, are you, not until you're a thousand-and-ten percent certain it is fact...precious science. Arthur's life is at stake! _

"Gaius?" Merlin's head cocked to one side, a single black eyebrow raised.

"I have to research this a bit more. You should stay with Arthur. If they are indeed sorcerers then the King and his son might be in grave danger," the old man let his face soften into a reassuring smile, "as soon as I know something helpful, I will tell you."

The boy nodded his head, still a bit peeved that his mentor had to be so procedural about everything. The ancient magic stirring in his bones left Merlin on edge and all he wanted was some kind of reassurance that Arthur's life was not in danger...not again. Not so soon.

He must be the worst servant in history, because every time he turned around a sorcerer or a rival King or someone else was trying to kill Arthur. A good servant – especially one as magical as Merlin – should be able to do something about it. Instead, the black haired boy must wait for Gaius to confide in him.

0000

_Sammy, if you don't shut up I'm going to throw a rock at your head...a big rock. Theorizing about what might or might not have happened is useless until we find Cas. He's our heavenly answer man. _

"Sam," the word came out in a growl.

The dark haired Winchester closed his mouth mid-word with a sharp _clack _of teeth.

"Sorry," Sam apologized with a half-shrug.

"Yeah, well, whatever," Dean dismissed his brother's previous ramblings with a flick of his wrist.

They had decided to walk around the wall and seek a smaller, more discreet entrance rather than try to mingle with the men and women they had seen entering through the main gates. It was all a bit surreal for the brothers and Sam was on the fence about whether to have a melt-down-freak-out or pretend it was just another messed up day. After some soul searching, he chose the latter.

"So, what are we going to do once we get inside? You heard that dude - they kill magical people around here and, apparently, we look 'the type'." Sam used air quotes around the last two words.

"Sam, don't." Dean shakes his head.

Rolling his eyes, the younger man pushed past his brother, studying the wall for any openings.

"This is useless. We'll have to use the main gates and just...disguise ourselves or something," Sam said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

_Dude, you're, like, eight feet tall and wearing second hand Carhartt's. Somehow I think you might make a bit of an impression...then there's me. So, seriously?...We should keep looking a while longer._

"Hm." all expressed in a throaty sound of unease.

"Cas would have come by now if he could have," Sam voiced Dean's fear matter-of-factly.

"Yeah..." Dean shook his head. "Listen, Sammy, if – and I mean IF – we don't find Cas, we'll deal with it."

"What if he's dead?"

Sam let his large palm rest flat against the stone wall, he was surprised by how warm it felt. The sun must have recently been resting on it...but the golden orb is falling now and the day is coming to a slow end.

"If he got himself killed and us stuck here then he better hide that _saintly _little ass of his because I'm going to find him and when I do – what was that?" Dean whirled towards a outcropping several hundred yards away. He heard giggling.

Sam's hand strayed to his belt where a handgun was tucked safely into his jeans under the shirt. Dean held up a hand and the younger Winchester waited.

"It sounds like kids," Dean whispered.

"So..what now?" Sam whispered back with a flick his head that dislodged his long bangs from his eyes, "we should wait for them to pass by."

_No shit, Sherlock! I'm glad you're around to hold my hand or else I would have never known how to deal with a couple of snot-nosed midgets. You idjit. _

Dean rolled his eyes and Sam caught the expression with a frown not appreciating the unspoken sentiment. The brothers began to back towards the wall where they crouched down behind a large fern, Sam's brown hair sticking up over the greenery. It only took a few more moments for the children to show themselves, walking together in a group of three – two boys and a smaller girl – they were laughing and talking in high little voices.

"Fucking adorable."

Dean dares Sam to so much as twitch in response to his unexpected, and frankly uncharacteristic, comment. Something had changed inside Dean after his time with Lisa and Ben. Humans younger than ten were no longer the horrific, possibly homicidal monsters that he had always assumed. They weren't idiots either. Just young and innocent and...fucking adorable.

It looked as if one of the boys had caught a ground squirrel and they were hurrying towards the wall with excited grins.

"Wait until my father sees!" the boy said with a proud smile, "mom can make it for dinner!"

"Make it for dinner!" the little girl repeats, her words slightly slurred as she works hard to form the sounds, her hands are clapping together in anticipation.

Dean Winchester cannot help the ear to ear smile that stretches across his face at the interaction. At his side Sam is looking a bit confused.

_Dude, you're getting a bit girly there...might want to reign it in. _

"Um, Dean?" Sam asks.

Dean glares up at his younger brother and hissed in an fond tone, "bitch."

Sam smirks, "jerk," he mutters back the familiar reply.

The children traveled away from the brothers, following the wall and chattering to each other until their voices faded away. The Winchester's stood up from behind the fern, staring at the way they wanted to go – where the children had gone. There was nothing for it, they would have to turn back or face running into the children again. They were lucky to have escaped notice the first time.

"We need to turn back...we'll think of something to fool those guards at the gate," Sam said.

"You can dress like a woman," Dean suggested straight faced, "we can get you a nice dress and veil."

"Dean...I can kill you with my mind," Sam exaggerated his power with an upward pull of his lips.

Dean leaned his head back and laughed loudly into the air. "You can't touch this," he motioned at his body with a flap of the wrist.

"Like I'd want to." Sam snorted.

They continued their walk back towards the main gate letting their banter push away the fears and uncertainty. Dean was still finding it hard to believe that they might have actually been transported back to the days of castle's and...dragons. He ran a hand through his short cropped blond hair and focused on the moment.

0000

Uther stood beside his thrown a concerned expression furrowing his brow. The soldier that had lead the party against the Winchester's stood in the middle of the room.

"Sorcery? You are certain?" Uther asked.

The soldier nodded his head, mouth moving for several second before a nervous retelling of the story passed his trembling lips. He knew that the King was notorious for being heartless when it came to executing those suspected of magic.

"We lost them in the woods near the North gate."

Uther nodded, stroking his chin as he thought of everything he had just learned. Arthur and his manservant, Merlin, were waiting patiently for the order everyone knew was coming. Uther hesitated a moment longer. He knew that his son was the most competent member of his knight's, but he was loath to put his heir in danger. Then Uther made the only decision he could in the circumstances.

"Arthur, take your men out and find these sorcerers. If the allegations are true they must be brought to justice."

Arthur bowed his head, eyes lowered. "Yes, father."

_And, please, remember to be careful. You are my son and heir to the throne, so, let your men take the risks. . .I know you won't listen to me, but, please, at least try to be cautious. _

"Son," Uther dismissed them with a nod of his head.

Arthur heard the words his father had not spoken aloud. He knew in his bones that his father saw him as the most prized possession Camelot housed. The Prince frowned, turned on his heel and together with Merlin exited the room. Uther's concern was touching, but Arthur was never completely sure of its motivation. Is the worry held by the father of a boy or the King of the land? Arthur is afraid to learn the answer so he never asks.

Walking out of the throne room, the two young men make their way through the halls. Once they reach the great doors that lead out of the castle, Arthur stops.

"Ready the horses, Merlin, and inform Gaius that you will be accompanying me for an extended period of time," saying that, the Prince continues towards his quarters.

"Yes, sire," Merlin responds even though the other boy is out of hearing range.

With a sigh the warlock skips down the stone stairs and jogs towards the stables. His heart pounds a little too loudly and a feeling of nausea will not release him. Merlin knows what will happen to the "sorcerers" if they are caught – he has seen one too many executions – and he will do whatever it takes to keep it from happening.

0000

Gaius read down the page, his finger trailing down the lines of ornate texts. The book was title The Paths of Angels. It was a copy of Sir McCormick's personal journal, a man who claimed interactions with angelic beings. Bright flashes of pure white light was linked to the immediate transportation of a person from one place to another – a type of natural, archaic magic that transcended the planet. Gaius looked up then, his gaze unfocused, and knew that Merlin needed to be told.

Angels had returned to Camelot.

"Angels?"

"Yes."

"Angels?...Are you sure?"

"As certain as I can be given the information at hand."

There was a soft sigh of acceptance, "alright. I need to tell Arthur."

0000

Merlin felt a smile stretch across his face, it was fueled by nerves and anxiety and he hated it.

"Angels?" Arthur asked in disbelief, his blue eyes wide, eyebrows raised.

"Yes."

"Angels?" the Prince repeated dumbfounded, "are you sure?"

Merlin's back tingled at the feeling of Deja'vu that settled over him. He understood how odd this must sound, having felt he same way only an hour earlier when Gaius had told him the truth about the light.

"As certain as I can be...given the information at hand," Merlin parroted his mentor's response.

Arthur's mouth fell open in an unattractive 'O' of disbelief.

"They are not magical...they are beyond magic." Merlin pressed, hoping that he could keep the strangers alive when they were found by Arthur's knights. "They are not a threat to Camelot."

Arthur's mouth fell closed with a shark _clack_. "I don't believe that for a second," the Prince replied, suspicion underwriting every word. Without another word the Prince stood and walked out of his quarters.

Merlin sighed and shouldered his master heavy pack before following Arthur out of the room.

0000

_You look like a fucking idiot, Sammy...So, you look the same as always. Let's get going before I actually think about this plan and realize how screwed up it is. We are going to die. _

"This dress smells funny," Dean said with a frown.

"Actually, I think it's called a 'robe', Dean," Sam replied with equal disgust.

"Dress, robe – whatever – it still smells like a small animal's plaything."

Sam scrunches his eyes closed, mentally forcing himself not to get too 'gutter-brained' when it came to his brother's random comments. He is unsuccessful.

"Sa-a-m." Dean let the word drag out. "Focus."

Sam sighs and brushes his bangs out of his eyes, looking down at the robe he had stolen from an unguarded wagon. Dean is wearing one too, the bottom of his jeans peeking out. Sam shifts awkwardly, his shoulders are broader than those of the original wearer. With nothing left to lose they exchange a "this can only end badly, but we're doing it anyway" look and then walk towards the castle's main entrance.

There are soldier in chain mail armor and red shirts, four at the gate and seven visible on the ramparts above, they all hold crude and deadly weapons.

"Just act natural," Dean mutters out of the corner of his mouth.

Sam give a curt nod.

They walk at an even pace, trying not to catch anyone's eye or appear to be avoiding gazes. Nonchalance is the key to sneaking into a castle undetected, Dean tells himself as way to calm his racing heart. A guard looks their way, staring long enough for Sam's hand to inch towards his belt where the gun is hidden even though he cannot reach it through the fabric of the black robe.

The guard looks away again, uninterested and both brothers breath a sigh of relief. Once inside they steal off to the left where fewer people seem to be gathered.

"We need a game plan," Dean whispers.

Sam gives his brother a disbelieving look. "I thought getting in here _was _the game plan."

_C'mon, bro, give me some help here...you're the – god help me, I have to actually admit it – thinker around here. So, start thinking. Use those super-duper, hyped up brain cells to wizard us a way out of here. _

"Sam," the blond haired man drawled expectantly.

The dark haired brother rolled his eyes and shook his head in frustration. "I should've known you would leave this all on me. This is so you can blame me when we get caught isn't it."

Dean smirked, "would I ever do that?"

"Yes."

Dean gasped theatrically and put a hand to his heart, "I'm hurt, Sam. Hurt."

Sam reached out and shoved his brother with a smarting smack to the shoulder. There were frantic calls from somewhere up the square and then two horses approached at a fast walk. Two men were leaving and one of them wore a shinning set of armor complete with helmet and the other wore a scruffy pair of pants, socks pulled out over his boots in a geeky fashion and a brown over-coat that partially hid a blue bandana wrapped around the boy's neck. The Winchester's backed into a nearby doorway, letting the shadows conceal them.

"The Prince is going out, it must be something important," a woman said loudly to her friend.

"The Prince!" Dean hissed in surprise.

The second rider, the Raggedy Ann one, jerked his head in their direction and stared in a rather disconcerting manner, but did not stop. Within a moment the riders had disappeared through the gate and out past the drawbridge.

Sam and Dean exchanged their all too often used "I think we almost got caught...didn't we" look. They eased out of the doorway and then started walking, heads lowered, towards the outskirts of the marketplace where they hoped to find an inn or some way to get information.

"Make way! Make way!" The deep, booming voice drew the boys attention.

A small group of men dressed as knights were pushing their way through the center isle of the market, two of them were carrying a man. Dean felt his heart come to a cold stop when he caught sight of Castiel's trademark beige coat – it was splashed with blood droplets and Dean could only hope they were not from the angel's host.

"C'mon, Sam," Dean said urgently, never taking his eyes off Castiel's still form.

The brothers followed at a safe distance, they were experts at tailing supernatural creatures and after that kind of life-long training it was no problem for them to sneak around the compound until they see the knights disappear down a hall inside the castle – they are watching through the open windows.

"Great," Dean grumbled.

Sam breathed in a deep sigh. "Well, at least we know where Cas is...that's good."

Dean let his head bang gently against the stone window frame. "They left guards, Sammy. I know we can take them, but if an alarm goes up we'll be smoked for sure."

"Then lets hope they don't send up an alarm," Sam says reasonably.

_Alright, let's do this, but if we get caught this is still all your fault. . .so, there. _

"Okay."

Sam frowned. "I knew you were going to blame me! This is totally _not_ my fault."

Dean doesn't say anything, pushing away from the wall he leads the way towards a nearby side-door. The elder Winchester walks with a predatory stalk that comes naturally to him, but Sam almost giggles at the sight of his brother trying to sneak in a robe. The stalk doesn't look nearly as intimidating as it must feel for Dean.

They enter the castle ready for battle, hands on guns.

0000

Uther sits on his throne, looking at the knight that had just reported finding a man in the forest.

"He is not one of the two seen to appear. Perhaps he was injured by the sorcerers...when he awakens maybe he can tell us more about them."

"Until then keep your men on high alert. I will not lose another of my people to the evil of sorcery."

The knight bowed low, hand on his sword hilt, "yes, sire."

0000

Gaius looked down at the man in his care. The clothes were like nothing the physician had ever seen, their fabric and color were spectacular and a little worrying. He sincerely doubted that this was the angel, but at the same time there was no other conclusion the old man could reach.

The man was in a deep sleep, possibly even a coma, and there would be no answers from him for at least a couple of days. There was a quiet commotion outside the doors where the knights were posted sentry, Gaius straightened with a frown and walked towards the door ready to give the knight's an earful. His patient needed peace and quiet if he was to recover.

The door burst open and two men entered, they each held a strange black item in their hands which became focused on Gaius in a moment. The white haired man held up his hands to show that he was not a threat.

"Who are you?" The shorter, blond haired man asked.

Gaius felt his left eyebrow raise high at the strange accent of the man, he was obviously not from around Camelot. The physician motioned towards the motionless man on the bed.

"My name is Gaius, I am the court physician and I was looking after this man's injuries before you two broke down my door," he glared then.

Merlin would have to fix the blasted door and the poor boy already had enough on his plate without having to worry about that. Assuming he returned from the forest unharmed, there were many dangers out there and Merlin seemed to attract danger as a matter of course.

"Gaius?" the taller man asked, moving forward so that he was beside the bed, "how is he?"

"Sam, how do you think he is?" Dean's question was snarky. "Last time he expended that much energy moving us he almost died and lost his powers for over a week."

"Ye-ah," Sam drew out the word as he remembered.

Gaius felt a stab of fear, his gaze instantly going to the sleeping man. So, it was the angel after all. The man had short dark hair, just visible stubble on his chin and upper lip and a stern expression, even in sleep. Gaius hoped that the King did not find out about the angel or the two men currently invading the physicians rooms.

"You must get out of here. The guards will be missed and then...The King has outlawed the use of magic for any reason."

"Yeah, we heard."

"And not that we don't agree – trust me, we'd like to see a good witch burning as much as the next person – but we really don't belong here," Dean said in earnest.

Gaius' expression turned sour. "Indeed."

The boys put their guns away, hidden out of sight, and turned their attention on Castiel. The angel looked like he had only minor injuries. A few scratches on his face were bright red and looked infected.

"Raphael must have gotten to him...it must have been that light that hit us...it sent us back...It -" Sam stopped formulating his thoughts aloud as he silently worked through the last thing remembered before being thrown violently into the forest. "We must have gone back in time – a long ways."

Dean felt his stomach clench at the news. He had not given up hope that it was all some elaborate, crazy-ass medieval colony in the middle of freaking nowhere that they had inadvertently stumbled across. To know that they were instead hundreds, if not thousands, of years away from everything they knew...He had trouble wrapping his head around it all.

_We are going to die here, a million years from home, and there is nothing that I can do to stop it. Our only hope – our fucking Obi-wan Kenobi – is in a coma and probably wont have his powers when he wakes up. We are so screwed. _

"Great. For a minute there I thought we were in a Shymalan film – thank god for small favors," he tries to keep the devastation out of his voice for Sam's sake.

0000

Merlin rode behind Arthur as they got further and further into the woods surrounding the castle. So far there had been no sign of any living creature, much less two renegade sorcerers.

"It is too quiet," Prince Arthur notices with an upraised chin, "not a good sign."

Merlin could only nod in silent agreement.


	2. Chapter 2: ROUGH DRAFT

CHAPTER TWO

Three days. It had been three days and still there was no sign of anyone or anything magical. Arthur was beginning to get frustrated and Merlin tried his best to placate the prince, because the wizard knew that the deep magic he had felt was now in Camelot, behind those thick walls of stone and ignorance. The last thing he wanted was Arthur turning his hunt towards the upper town.

"My father is not going to be pleased," Arthur stated over the fire that night.

Merlin looked up from where he was preparing to roast a pair of pheasants they had killed earlier in the day.

"You're not going to just give up are you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, inserting derision into his voice.

"No. Of course not." Arthur straightened his spine and looked royally offended. "I just think we should check back with the guards at Camelot and see if anyone has seen anything...because we certainly haven't," the last he added with a grumble.

Merlin could not argue with that. Arthur was an excellent tracker and he had found nothing. Not even a broken twig or footprint in the damp earth. As far as they could tell, no one but the knights and peasants had traveled this way in weeks.

"Alright. I'll have the horses packed at dawn," Merlin gave in with a silent sigh.

Arthur lay down on his blanket next to the fire and threw an arm over his eyes. "You do that, Merlin," he said and then after a moment added with a yawn, "wake me when the food is prepared."

"Yes, sire."

OoOoO

_We can only stay holed up in this room eating rat stew for so long before those fucking guards get suspicious. We need a plan, a way to get Cas out of this place and to somewhere secure...at least until we know if he's going to fully recover. The rest we can deal with when we come to it._

"Sam?" Dean asks his younger brother, letting Sam infer everything from his tone and expression.

The two brothers are seated on the floor on opposites sides of this small, sparse bed that Gaius insists belongs to his apprentice Merlin – the brothers had a hard time with that one – where Castiel lay in a deep sleep.

"At least he's out of the coma, man," Sam pointed out optimistically, "so, maybe, if we wait a few days he will be strong enough to walk out under his own steam. I seriously doubt we'll make it ten feet carrying him."

Sam had a point and Dean knew it, but his nerves were on edge and every second he spent in the tiny, bare room increased his anxiety. He was to the point where screaming into a pillow and knifing a few wall boards seemed like a good alternative. He needed to get out before he went crazy.

"I don't do so well in small spaces," he reminded his brother for the millionth time.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Cowboy up. I know since the whole 'hell' thing you've had a few...irrational phobias, but this is not the time or place."

"Irrational," Dean pointed out with upraised eyebrows and a hand motion.

Sam chuckled dryly. "Maybe we should look into therapy."

Now it was Dean's turn to roll his eyes towards the ceiling. "There is no shrink in the world that could put us back together...they'd have better luck with Humpty-Dumpty."

"Hm." Sam made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat.

"Well, all I'm saying is we better get out of here soon."

Dean crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the dirty wooden floor boards. He cocked his head to one side as he noticed one board that was almost clean...he could barely see the double thin lines of a slit on either side of it. His hunter nature piqued, the Winchester leaned forward and felt under the bed where the board was it lifted with an experimental tug.

"Hey, Sammy, I think I found something."

Sam's eyes widened with interest and he moved forward. "The kids porn stash? Are we really that desperate?"

Dean shot his brother a glare. "No. It looks like there's a … wait..." Dean reached into the opening and pulled out a thick leather-bound tome. "Book," he finished.

"Huh, there really was porn," Sam sounded surprised.

Dean flipped through a few of the worn pages, reading the ornate and colorful scripts written there, and then came to a verbal conclusion.

"Yeah, this must belong to Merlin...it's a book of magic."

"Magic?" Sam asked, leaning over his brother's shoulder so that he could read.

"Yeah. Doesn't look like anything too dark so we probably don't have to worry about killing the little bastard unless he -."

"Dean! We cannot kill _Merlin_ no matter what," Sam cried, aghast, "he's _Merlin_, for godsakes."

_Here we go. I knew it was only a matter of time before your fan girl obsession with that Disney character took over your brain. I mean, I know you held a torch for Merlin when you were a kid, but, seriously, Sammy? You're almost thirty and I'm – god - I'm old. We don't have time for this so put the puppy love back in the box._

"We have enough to worry about without turning this into some bizarre hunt, anyway," Dean said.

Sam heaved a great sigh of relief and sat back on his heels. "Thank, god."

"Jeeze, Sam, don't sound so 'first date' about all of this. You're probably not going to meet the guy, because we have to get out of here."

"Cas isn't strong enough yet."

A knock at the door interrupted. Dean and Sam both stood to their feet, Dean still holding the book. After several long seconds Gaius entered, a steaming bowl of soup in each hand.

"I apologize for the shortness of rations. Usually it is only myself and my ward and it would look suspicious if I required double the amount. Still it is better than nothing."

Dean accepted his bowl with a forced smile. "Fantastic," he muttered unenthusiastically.

Sam's smile was softer and more sincere. "We really do appreciate everything you are doing for us."

Gaius shrugged the compliment away, but the lines around his eyes relaxed. Then he caught sight of the book and the color drained from his face.

"Put that away!" the old man hissed urgently. "It will be bad enough if I get caught harboring fugitives, but if harm should come to Merlin..." he swallowed hard, "I would never be able to forgive myself."

Dean looked down at the book. "I thought there might be a way home in here...There are a lot of spells."

"I thought you condemned sorcery? I seem to recall you enjoyed witch burnings," Gaius said with masked disgust.

Dean shook his head. "Only the evil bitches. Don't ask, don't tell for the White Lighters out there," he said charitably.

"What Dean means is that we only kill people who use magic to harm others. We aren't against magic, per se, we're more...protectors against the Dark Side." Sam explained with a self-conscious wince.

Gaius raised a single eyebrow and looked unconvinced. "Hm. Enjoy the soup. Hide that book."

With those clipped words he turned and left the room, closing the door.

"Well isn't he a ray of effing sunshine," Dean groused as he looked down at the unappealing food.

"Shut up and eat, Dean," Sam said.

OoOoO

Merlin's mouth was starting to water as he thought of the meal Gaius must have waiting for him. Arthur had sent a sentry posted at the gate to alert the King of their return. The servant made quick work of unpacking the horses and getting them set in their stalls. He was almost skipping when he reached the hallway to the quarters he shared with Gaius.

It was not until he opened the door to their rooms that he felt the energy. The dark, tainted magical core that belonged to someone...someone in his room. Merlin's eyes fell into twin slits of suspicion.

"Gaius?" he called into the room.

Movement on his left revealed the court physician half-hidden behind a bookshelf where he was trying to reach a fallen book.

"Merlin, my boy, perhaps your young arms would better suited for this task," Gaius suggested with a gasp as he straightened.

Obediently, the young man retrieved the book and handed it to his friend.

"There is someone in my room. The one they are looking for," he did not have to wait for an answer.

"Yes," Gaius gave it anyway.

_When will you start looking out for yourself. I can't always protect you and harboring one fugitive is dangerous enough...You're in the same building as the King who would kill you in a heartbeat if he knew the truth about either of us. Please, Gaius, be careful!_

"You shouldn't have helped them," Merlin doesn't really mean it, but still feels like his surrogate father puts himself at risk.

"Merlin, don't worry yourself." Gaius sent a comforting smile to the boy. "I am well aware of what I am doing and the consequences of my actions."

"Still..." Merlin's words trailed off as he did not know how else to fight against the fear he felt at the thought that something might happen to the old man. "How can I help?"

Gaius put the book down on a work bench and sat down on a stool, motioning for Merlin to do the same. He explained about the angel and the men as best he could.

"So, Uther thinks they kidnapped the angel?"

"Yes." Gaius nodded. "Before the guards could be discovered, I informed Uther that several masked men had entered my rooms and stolen the injured witness. I told him they had Eastern accents and talked of leaving Camelot immediately."

Merlin sighed heavily shook his head, chin wrinkled in distaste. "Well, if I know Arthur we'll be back on the road by sunrise going after this imaginary Eastern Sorcerers."

Gaius could not stop a chuckle from escaping. "Indeed. I heard that only a handful of Knights are still in the castle, the rest have been dispatched."

"Gaius, there is one thing I have to tell you," Merlin wasn't sure how to say it exactly, so he let the words blurt themselves out. "I feel a dark energy from at least one of them – there is more than one?"

"Three, including the injured man," Gaius said with a half-shrug.

Merlin's eyebrows shot up and his mouth fell open. "Three! Hiding in my room?" he asked in disbelief. "For three days?" he was suddenly concerned that he might not have a room left.

Gaius gave Merlin a 'you really do act like a bit of a ponce sometimes' look and said, "Now, Merlin, you do need to learn to share."

Merlin threw his hands up in the air and stalked towards his room, a frown making his ears look even larger than normal. He opened the door loudly, letting it smack against the wall.

"I'm Merlin and you're in my room," he informed the two men haughtily.

Sam and Dean exchanged glances.

_Dude, he needs a Xanax or...a good lay._

"Um, Sam..."

Dean saw a scrawny twelve year old in scruffy clothes and floppy boots, but Sam saw something else entirely. A childhood hero in the flesh, powerful and wise. Sam's knees started to shake and he moved forward, grasping Merlin's arm and shaking it vigorously.

"I'm Sam and I'm your biggest fan. Seriously, I love you and I think you're amazing and that's my brother." Sam knew he was babbling, but didn't care. This was _Merlin_, for godsakes!

"Sam," Dean said loudly and clearly, "you – are – embarrassing – me," he enunciated each word carefully before adding with a eye-roll, "and yourself."

Merlin was shocked by the reception, especially since the man currently possessing his arm was the one exuding all the black energy. The boy swallowed. This might be trickier than he had thought.

"You are the most amazing wizard in history and I cannot believe you're actually real – I knew it all along! I knew you were real!" Sam contradicted himself with a victorious grin directed at his brother.

Dean walked up beside his brother, stared up at the smile-clad face and smacked Sam's head as hard as he could.

"Ow! Ow! What the fuck, Dean," Sam bit out in pain, whispering out the side of his mouth, "not in front of Merlin."

"We'll discuss this later," Dean growled.

Merlin stood in stunned silence. These men seemed so normal, yet alien. He cleared his throat and his eyebrows lowered as he tried to regain control of the situation.

"You really have to get out of my room."

"Trust me, wiz-kid, there is nothing I would rather do. One problem, we have nowhere to go and our friend here is injured."

Merlin's frown turned into a full glower, "then carry him," he paused a beat, "out of my room."

"You really are a selfish little brat aren't you, you snot-nosed little - ."

"Dean!" Sam interjected, cutting off what had promised to be a long stream of insults.

Merlin crossed his arms over his chest. "I will help you if you will leave. I don't want myself of Gaius getting killed for helping _you people_."

Sam blinked. "That hurts a little, but I know you don't meant it, because you don't know us yet."

"There will be no _yet_, you are leaving."

"Yeah, Sammy, we're leaving," Dean agreed, thrilled that they would finally be able to get out of the tiny living quarters.

Merlin watched as Dean went to the bed and tried to pick up the angel lying there. Guilt built up inside the wizard as he watched the struggle. He didn't really mind that they were in his room or that Gaius was helping them, after all he would have done exactly the same, but after half a week in the forest sleeping on the floor he had looked forward to having his own space back. A protective streak ran through him when it came to possessions and he was well aware of it.

With a long sigh Merlin went to the bed and placed his hands over the angel's eyelids. He spoke a spell of rejuvenation and wakefulness hoping that it would have some affect.

"What did you just do?" Sam asked eagerly, pushing his way to the young wizards side, "Because that sounded so-o Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

"_Seriously, dude?"_ Dean asked with a shake of his head.

Castiel moaned and his eyes fluttered open slowly. "What happened?" he asked in a raspy monotone.

"We're in a freaking Disney movie, that's what happened," Dean informed him sarcastically.

Castiel winced. "I thought Gabriel was dead."

"Not an actual movie, you idiot."

"There's no need to be mean," Cas grinds out, coughing at the dryness in his throat.

"Here, let me get you some water," Merlin slips back into servant mode and goes out to the main chamber for a goblet of water.

"Sure, he wants to help the angel," Dean grumbles.

"Explain what happened," Castiel tries again once he has had a sip of water.

"We're in the past. Somehow we got sent back a long time – a really, really long time – and now we're in Camelot," the younger Winchester tells him.

Castiel pushed himself up on his elbows, blue eyes widening. "The Camelot?" he asks in awe.

"Uh, I guess," Sam answers.

The angel collapses back, his eyes unfocused as they stare at the ceiling. "I had heard, but I thought it was all just a myth...a legend told so many times over it was believed to be fact."

"I thought angels were supposed to know everything." Sam raised an eyebrow.

"I am not omniscient, despite what you and your brother seem to think. I had a post and I was confined to that post and only relevant information was passed on to me. Camelot was a place I had heard other angels speak of."

"Cas, what's so special about this place?" Dean asked, not understanding the light of awe still shinning through his friend's blue eyes. "It's a freaking castle."

Castiel fastened his gaze on Dean. "You have no concept of importance, Dean."

"Look, can you talk about this later, like, when you aren't in danger of being discovered...In my room?" Merlin asked as he pushed away from the bed.

"Yeah, Cas, we really could use some Shazam power getting out of here," Dean said.

Sam nodded in silent agreement. Castiel groaned and laid his head back down on the pillow.

"I am powerless until my 'batteries' re-charge," he made air-quotes with his fingers, "so I'm afraid getting us out of here will be up to you."

Dean, Sam and Merlin exchanged uneasy glances.

"Alright, let me see what I can do," Merlin said with a forced grin.


End file.
